


Remember Us

by Marluna



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Coming of Age, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Internal Conflict, Lovers To Enemies, M/M, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, Yoon Dowoon-centric, mostly angst tbh, we'll see, will probably have a good ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23492176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marluna/pseuds/Marluna
Summary: Everywhere Dowoon looks, the people he loves the most are hurting.Sungjin never comes around anymore, too busy with everything else. He texts the groupchat sometimes, but mostly he doesn't have the time. Younghyun is lost, doesn't know what he's doing anymore. He's letting go of his dreams, too afraid of what ifs to pursue them. Jaehyung can't be honest with himself, because being honest with himself means letting his family down. But not being honest with himself means he'll lose what he loves the most. And Wonpil, he won't let go of things that might never be. And because of it, he's hurting.Dowoon wants to save them.But what can he do?
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K & Everyone, Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Sungjin, Kim Wonpil & Everyone, Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Park Jaehyung | Jae & Everyone, Park Sungjin & Everyone, Yoon Dowoon & Everyone
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Prolouge | Days Gone By

**Author's Note:**

> Should I be starting a new project when I have 3+ of them that I can be continuing? No. But will I anyways? Yes, yes I think I will.

Dowoon misses the good old days. He can remember them vividly, almost as if they were yesterday. Back when it was the five of them, content to be doing their own thing. Back when it was just them, and nothing else mattered. Dowoon misses the days where no one was hurting, and everyone was fine.

He remembers summer afternoons spent in Sungjin's room. His bed was always haphazardly made, but everything else was always clean and in order. He remembers Jae playing the guitar, strumming randomly and Younghyun singing, words nonsensical. But they were having fun, and that was all that mattered. He remembers Sungjin nodding his head along to the beat Dowoon makes by tapping his hand against Sungjin's desk. Jae sometimes challenges Dowoon by suddenly changing the tempo, but Dowoon always matches his pace eventually. At some point, Wonpil who watches Jae with starry eyes will start to join Younghyun in his impromptu lyric work. The song only becomes more chaotic as the two belt out random lyrics that don't quite match up with that the other is saying.

But they were having fun, and that was all that mattered.

He remembers fall mornings. Fate had a funny way of putting them in the same class, always. It never took teachers long to realize that Jae was going to be one of the most talkative kids. That no matter who they placed him by, they would become friends. It also didn't take them long to realize he should _never_ be sat by Kim Wonpil or Kang Younghyun, but at least Park Sungjin could keep him on task. He remembers Wonpil, complaining about how school was starting again but always perking up when making new friends. He remembers being roped into making new friends with Wonpil. Sungjin and Younghyun were always attentive in classes (unless Jae was their seatmate), but out, they were just as wild as anyone else.

He remembers winter mornings, waiting at the bus stop for his four friends. Wonpil, in his too big jackets that his mother made him wear, bundled up in scarves so he could hardly move. Jae, laughing at him but he was really cold in his thin sweaters and would end up borrowing one of Wonpil's scarves, if Younghyun didn't offer him one first. Younghyun was always just naturally warm, and Wonpil would always hug him for additional warmth. Sungjin was probably the most normal of the bunch after Dowoon, both dressed just right for the weather.

And he also remembers spring afternoons, heading to the candy shop after school (all five would pour in any money they got from their parents or found on the ground). He remembers Wonpil and Jae outside, arguing before Jae lets out a sneeze because he has allergies. And instead of yelling at him, Wonpil would be worrying about him. Younghyun would tease them ("They're so silly, just running in circles all day. Huh, Dowoonie? Just say you like each other the best and go!") and Dowoon wouldn't know who to side with. Luckily, Sungjin would always arrive just in time to give everyone treats. And then they would head to the park, candies in hand.

They were always having fun. Every day was a good day. Now, things are not so good.

Everywhere Dowoon looks, the people he loves the most are hurting. His best friends who helped make him belong somewhere suddenly didn't know where or how to belong.

Sungjin never comes around anymore, too busy with everything else. He texts the groupchat sometimes, but mostly he doesn't have the time. Younghyun is lost, doesn't know what he's doing anymore. He's letting go of his dreams, too afraid of what ifs to pursue them. Jaehyung can't be honest with himself, because being honest with himself means letting his family down. But not being honest with himself means he'll lose what he loves the most. And Wonpil, he won't let go of things that might never be. And because of it, he's hurting.

Dowoon wants to save them.

_But what can he do?_


	2. How Deep Is Your Love

"What do you mean you're dropping out of music!?" Wonpil exclaims, too loud for seven in the morning. Although, what Younghyun had said had woken everyone up. "Younghyun, you love music!" Wonpil says.

"Dude, please tell me you're at least not quitting music club," Jaehyung adds. His eyebrows are furrowed and he looks at Younghyun intently.

Younghyun seems to have a hard time facing them, looking at the ground in front of them. They're at their usual spot in front of the music building. It's a nice little spot, not many people go there and it's got two benches that face each other, perfect for the five of them. They have a specific set up where on one bench, Jae, Younghyun, and Sungjin sit in that order. On the other, Wonpil and Dowoon sit with each other, usually with their backpacks in between them.

Only, today Sungjin is not here, and instead, Younghyun's backpack takes his place. Sungjin is preparing for first day student council meeting. Elections will happen and everyone wants Sungjin as president. So they don't really need to plan a campaign, but they do anyways. Formality stuff, Sungjin says.

"I am quitting music club. What's in it for me?" Younghyun says. Not with his whole heart, Dowoon notices. There's a bit of hesitation in his voice. When he looks back up at them though, there is no hesitation in his eyes. Only a sad look, and Dowoon doesn't know what to make of it.

"But we're all waiting for your big surprise," Dowoon tries to add to the conversation awkwardly. He isn't sure what to say, honestly. He doesn't even know what's wrong.

"I hate to break it to you Dowoon, but there was no surprise. It was all talk," Younghyun says. His mouths hangs a bit, as though there's more he wants to say. But he doesn't. He closes his mouth and leans back against the bench, crossing his arms. Jae looks at Younghyun knowingly and pats his shoulder.

"I mean, it's up to you, really. But music won't be the same without you. You're literally our mood maker," Jae says, and Younghyun just hums in response.

A terrible, awkward silence hangs in the air and no one knows what to say to fill the space. Not even Wonpil, who always has something to say. Dowoon looks between his friends. There's Younghyun, looking up at the sky. It's a sunny day, not very fitting for their current situation. Dowoon can't tell what he's feeling or what he's thinking. There's Jae, who keeps his hand on Younghyun's shoulder. A subtle reminder that he's always there if Younghyun needs him. He looks at the ground, at Wonpil's worn out shoes. There's Wonpil, looking between all of them just like Dowoon is. Sometimes he opens his mouth, just to close it again and then sigh. His eyes meet Dowoon's and Dowoon quickly looks at the other bench.

There's the sound of Jae patting Younghyun's shoulder again and he sits up straighter. "This is a terrible mood to start our senior year with, guys. This is our last year together! We should be making the most of it!" Jae says. Wonpil slowly nods his head in agreement as Younghyun sits up straight and looks at Jae.

"What should we do then? We're all not even here," Younghyun says bitterly. Dowoon knows something happened between Sungjin and Younghyun during the summer, but he doesn't know what. He just knows that Younghyun unfollowed Sungjin on just about everything and Sungjin started to text them even less, even going offline when Younghyun came online. So they all know something went wrong between them, and they're definitely not dating anymore, Younghyun deleting all his posts about Sungjin. Dowoon is too scared to ask what happened, so he just pretends he doesn't notice.

"I thought you two agreed to be friends," Jae says to Younghyun. Although Jae doesn't say any names, Wonpil and Dowoon know what he means.

"We are friends."

"Well you're sure not acting like it."

"Maybe it doesn't have to be now," Wonpil helpfully pipes up, diffusing the coming argument. "Maybe we can do something after school. Or even on the weekend," Wonpil says.

"Yeah," Dowoon agrees. "I'll text Sungjin now and ask him about his availability." He grabs his phone out of his pocket as he says this. By the time he finishes volunteering to invite Sungjin to whatever it is they'll do, he already has their text messages open.

As Dowoon sends Sungjin a message, he hears Dowoon and Jae enthusiastically planning something. He glances at Younghyun, who seems a little more content now, even adding in his own ideas as to what they should be doing.

"Okay, but I can just buy pizza from my work place and get a discount," Jae says. "So it should definitely be on a weekend."

"Okay, fine, we won't go to the theater. But then we can't watch new movies," Wonpil says. Jaehyung hums at that.

"Why don't we just watch old movies then? Maybe a throw back day isn't so bad every once in a while," Younghyun suggests. "Or, Sungjin has- I mean, we don't even know if he's available."

"Sungjin has netflix," Jae finishes for Younghyun. "I mean, even if he's not available, my family has Hulu."

"We can see if YouTube has some movies too," Wonpil adds.

As Wonpil starts saying it won't be fair for Jae to bring all the snacks and food so they should all bring something, Dowoon feels his phone buzz. He picks it up hopefully. It is in fact a message from Sungjin, but it's not quite what he was hoping to see.

"Sungjin can't make it," Dowoon says. Another message pops up as he relays the first message. Before he can continue to read the next message, Wonpil is leaning over their backpacks, smooshing the tops under his arm.

"Let me see," Wonpil says, although he doesn't give Dowoon a choice. Thankfully it's the first day of school, so there's nothing important in their bags. "What? He already has homework? That's- That has to be a lie!"

"Except it's not," Jae replies. "Sungjin is an AP and Honors student, so it's not all that surprising."

"He works too hard," Wonpil says, before exiting Dowoon's space. Just when the mood was getting good again, it's taken a turn again. "Well, we can still have fun, just us four, right?" Wonpil asks.

"Yeah, of course we can Pillie," Jae replies. "If you're all still down for it?" he says, more to Dowoon and Younghyun.

"Yeah, I'll come," Dowoon agrees, nodding his head.

"Only if we get to watch Ponyo," Younghyun says.

"I'll see if they have it."

The bell rings then. It's 7:30 AM and time for them to get to class. They bid each other farewells and head to their respective classes.  
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Dowoon's first class is Economics. He's surprised to see Sungjin, but then he realizes that there is no AP or Honors version of the class. Not that their school, at least. Sungjin sits right next to Dowoon. Dowoon is glad to know Sungjin is not avoiding _all_ of them. "Good morning Dowoon," he says. He doesn't look like he's having a good morning though, so Dowoon asks what's wrong.

The teacher is waiting for the second bell to ring which would signal the beginning of class. His whiteboard is cleared and he is on his computer. He prints out a paper, the printer loudly whirring to life and filling the quiet room with sound.

"Was he mad?" Sungjin asks, quietly. If the desks weren't so close to each other, Dowoon wouldn't have been able to hear him.

"Was who mad?" Dowoon fakes ignorance in hopes that it will buy him some time and stop him from having to answer the question.

"Younghyun."

"He's... fine."

Sungjin lets out a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Suddenly Dowoon feels bad for lying. He just didn't want Sungjin to worry. One little white lie can't have hurt, right? But he realizes that this white lie could become a big one, so he adds to it.

"Well, he's bitter, but he's not... doing bad?"

"What do you mean, Dowoon?"

"I mean... I don't know. I just know he's hurting. But I think this is something you should talk about with him personally," Dowoon answers.

"Yeah, I guess I should try to talk to him but...," Sungjin says, trailing off. Dowoon can see that Sungjin is hurting too. It's so odd to see. The Sungjin he remembers was always smiling or content. The Sungjin he remembers is very strong. But maybe the Sungjin he remembers is just the only Sungjin he was allowed to see. Maybe Sungjin was protecting him, them from the darker parts of himself.

Dowoon opens his mouth to ask the question he dreads asking Younghyun. Maybe it will be easier to ask Sungjin. But he doesn't, and he misses his chance when the bell rings and Sungjin, always the A student he is, he faces the front. Any further conversation that could have taken place is left alone now.

Dowoon glances at Sungjin now and then. He looks tired. They'd always known him as a studious person, but could it be that that wasn't really what he wanted for himself?

Sungjin catches him staring. Dowoon, embarrassed, faces the front again.  
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When lunch time rolls around, they gather at their usual place. Sungjin comes in favor of setting up the music club stand (the only thing he _doesn't_ help lead). Younghyun had gone to see the counselors about switching out of music though, so Sungjin misses him completely. It's just Dowoon, Wonpil, Jae, and Sungjin. Younghyun's spot becomes occupied by Jae and Sungjin's backpacks.

Dowoon is really thankful when Sungjin arrives. He had had to bear with Jaepil's obvious flirting. That thing they do when Wonpil stares at Jae and Jae pretends not to notice until he can't anymore and he looks up and they giggle at each other. Dowoon doesn't really mind, except that he's _alone_ with them. And it's really awkward.

Interesingly enough, as fixated as he was on Jae, Wonpil was the first to notice Sungjin. "Sungjin! You're here!" Wonpil exclaims with a grin. "Don't you have to help rope new students into student council or music club?" Wonpil asked, tilting his head.

"I mean... I think everyone else can handle it," Sungjin replies. He comes to a stop right in front of them and looks at where Younghyun should be.

"He went to see the counselors," Jae helpfully informs him without having to be asked. Sungjin looks up at the eldest boy. "He's dropping music," Jae adds when Sungjin looks at him questioningly. They remember in 11th grade at the end of the year when Younghyun had bragged about how senior year would be the best year minus government and economics because he had gotten all the best classes.

"Why?" Sungjin asks, mouth agape in surprise.

"You know why," Jae says, and if looks could kill... Well Sungjin wouldn't be dead, just petrified or muted. Jae clearly did not want him asking any more questions about it. "Anyways, since you're here, you should sit with us." It's like his mood takes a full 180.

"Yeah! It's been so long! How have you been?" Wonpil asks, leaning forward as Sungjin sits down.

"You saw me two hours ago," Sungjin responds to Wonpil, who hums.

"Maybe so, but you looked really sad so I didn't want to ask you then," Wonpil replies. "Sungjinnie, you know we'll always be here for you, don't you?"

"Yeah... Thanks Wonpil," Sungjin says, but his smile doesn't reach his eyes.

They all hear the sound of Jae's phone letting him know he has a new notification. He grabs his phone and unlocks it, his eyes light up in interest. He starts to type and they know what it is. See, Jae had recently started talking to a girl called Jiyeon. Jiyeon went to their school and was also a senior. She moved to the school halfway through their second semester of 11th grade and had become pretty attached to Jae after he showed her around.

"Is that Jiyeon, Jae?" Wonpil asks. When Dowoon glanced at him, he could see a longing look in his eyes. Wonpil always got that look when Jiyeon came around.

"Yeah, it's her," Jae replies before putting his phone back down on the thin armrest of the bench. "She wants me to go to the mall with her today to try out that new cafe that opened up. Kinda excited. Jimin said it was really good," Jae explains.

"Then, maybe we should go together some time," Wonpil suggests.

"Maybe. Do you wanna come with me and Jiyeon, maybe?" Jae offers. Wonpil bites his lip and shakes his head. Dowoon sees Jae glance down at Wonpil's lips, his gaze lingering a little too long and Dowoon wonders when Jae will finally say he's gay and confess his undying love for Wonpil. Wonpil evidently notices too, if the way he releases his lip and blushes and looks at his backpack is of any indication. "Hm, maybe some other day then. Just us two, yeah?"

"Yeah. I think that sounds fun, Jae."  
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"What do you think a cafe date with Jae is like?" Wonpil asks. They're sitting in the Kim household playing Super Smash Bros online. Dowoon's Link lands a hit on some user called "vroomman", successfully smashing him out of the screen. Wonpil had died a long time ago and Dowoon had to fend off the two vroommen by himself. They were not that good though in all honesty.

"Sounds gross, honestly," Dowoon answers, very honestly. He sidesteps and dodges an attack. It was way too predictable.

Wonpil hums. "I think it sounds nice," he responds with a giggle as Dowoon uses his special attack on vroomman. With that, he wins the match.

"Honestly, Pil, I don't know why you still chase after him," Dowoon replies, picking up an orange slice and putting it in his mouth. Wonpil had insisted they eat fruits instead of chips, like usual. Dowoon didn't protest. "He's not interested in dating guys," Dowoon adds.

"I think he could be," Wonpil says. "I think he just needs time to... come out."

"And how long do you intend to wait for him?"

"Forever." He says it so quickly, so surely, so confidently that Dowoon is genuinely worried for Wonpil. Dowoon thinks the same thing as Wonpil. He thinks that Jae isn't quite as straight as he says he is. But he also knows that Jae is pretty adamant about being straight. And he doesn't want Wonpil to wait forever for someone that might never reciprocate his feelings, at least not openly. Someone that will never commit to him. Even if that someone is their best friend who loves Wonpil too.

"Wonpil! You know, I don't say it but I do care for you both, _you all_ , a lot, right?" Dowoon's cheeks heat up upon admitting this, even though he's trying to have a serious conversation. Wonpil nods, looking at the bowl of oranges instead of at his childhood friend. "Okay. Good. So for your own sake, I think you need to move on at some point. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But don't spend your whole life waiting on him."

"But what if he does like me, Dowoon? Because sometimes I think he does! Sometimes I really think he feels the same... It feels that way, anyways."

"If he won't ever commit to being in a relationship with you, then what's the point of waiting for him? Doesn't it hurt?"

Wonpil laughs. Dowoon furrows his eyebrows, confused. What did he say?

"It's not about me, Dowoonie. It's about Jaehyungie. As long as I can be someone that makes him happy, I think I can be content. And if one day, being his boyfriend makes him happy, then I will gladly do that. So I'm fine waiting, because I really don't want anyone _but_ him... Or, I thought I was fine waiting, anyways. These days I'm getting a little selfish. But you know what I mean, right?"

"No?"

"Hm... Well, I'll figure it out." Wonpil pops an orange slice into his mouth. "For nooow... Vroomman quit so I guess we have to find a new person to fight, huh?"  
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That night Dowoon goes to sleep with love on his mind. Just what is love, and what is the right way to love? Dowoon always thought he knew, but now? Well, he isn't so sure.


End file.
